LIVE! Islamic State vows to attack Russian President Putin

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Sun, 06 March 2016

Islamic State vows to attack Russian President Putin

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21:42 Islamic State vows to attack Russian President Putin

The Islamic State group's branch in the Northern Caucasus region of Russia released a video that showed the execution of an alleged Russian spy. The new IS video reportedly called on Russian Muslims to "kill apostates" in the country and threatened to carry out an attack on President Vladimir Putin.

In the video, the IS urges Muslims in Russia to join them claiming that "the Caliphate is already here".

"Today we do have a place where we can implement Sharia. Thanks to Allah, we have many brave brothers here with us and millions of Muslims in Russia. Let's get together my brothers, seize a territory and expand it, one of the leading members of the group reportedly said in the video. "If someone does not find us, he shall start killing Russian apostates on his own. It is not difficult to find weapons in Russia."

A woman from the central Chinese city of Xian has died in an elevator of the apartment building where she was living after remaining trapped in it for over a month.

The police found the woman's body, which had begun decomposing, on March 1, and launched an investigation. "The scene was inhumane. We think she starved to death in there," one of the residents, Xiao Lin, told reporters. Another resident only named Wang said the elevator was full of markings of the victim's desperate attempts to get out.

Chinese media wondered how it was possible that the woman's corpse went unnoticed by the building's residents for over 30 days, although it could be that several residents may have been away on travels to other parts of China during the customary Lunar New Year festivities in February.

20:11 Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani passes away

Malayalam actor and popular folk singer Kalabhavan Mani passed away at a hospital in Kochi today. He was 45.Mani, who started as a mimicry artist, was a popular character actor in all South Indian languages.

He acted as hero in many Malayalam movies and was a very popular folksinger and stage performer. In a career spanning close to a quarter century, Mani has acted in around 200 films and of late, was seen more often in Tamil films. He was hospitalised a couple of days ago with a liver ailment.

An Indian priest missing after an attack on a care home run in Yemen is being held by the assailants, likely militants from the Islamic State group,officials said.

Yemeni authorities have blamed IS for the Friday attackon the refuge for the elderly operated by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in main southern city Aden.

"According to our information, the extremists who attacked the elderly care home in Aden have kidnapped priest Tom Uzhunnalil, a 56-year-old Indian, who was taken to an unknown location," a Yemeni security official said.

A gun battle rages on in Kashmir's Kulgam district between government forces and terrorists. The encounter comes following the firing in Pulwama and Pampore recently.

CPI-M general secretary SitaramYechury said the present regime at the Centre would resemble "Hitler's fascism model" if a parallel is drawn with history, even as he accused BJP and RSS of manufacturing the debate on nationalism to serve their agenda of "Hindu"rashtra.

"An aggressive nationalism debate has been manufactured by the BJP and RSS so that they can force their agenda on the nation. They want to convert a democratic, republic and a secular country into a Hindu rashtra," he said.

18:12 Suicide car bomb kills 29 south of Baghdad

A car bomb exploded at a crowded checkpoint outside the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, on Sunday, killing at least 29 people, police and medical sources said. "Twenty-nine people were killed and 47 wounded in a suicide car bomb attack targeting the main checkpoint north of Hilla," a police lieutenant said.

17:28 'Kanhaiya Kumar an aberration, not a hero'

Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy today said that JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was an "aberration" and not a hero, while asserting that the Left parties were taking refuge in universities, media and NGOs.

"Kanhaiya is an aberration," the Minister of State for Skill Development and Parliamentary Affairs said when asked whether Kanhaiya had become a hero with the Left parties planning to make him campaign for their candidates in the coming Assembly polls in West Bengal.

He said that no right-thinking person who believed in nationalism would tolerate the acts and speeches of the JNUSU leader.

17:14 This guy is Hitler: Louis CK tears Trump apart

US Comedian Louis CK called Donald Trump an "insane bigot,' compared him to Adolf Hitler, and urged fans not to vote for him. In a 1,400-word letter, the Emmy winner told fans on his e-mail list that Trump is "dangerous." "It was funny for a little while. But the guy is Hitler. And by that I mean that we are being Germany in the 30s," he wrote.

CK wrote he would prefer a conservative in the White House to balance eight years of President Obama. Please pick someone else. Like John Kasich. I mean that guy seems okay, he added.

Five people were injured as a mob of alleged Bajrang Dal members barged into a church in Khamardih, Chhattisgarh on Sundayduring prayers and began vandalising the room and attacking the people present.

"Members of the Bajrang Dal chanting 'Jai Sri Ram' charged into the church. They attacked woman, ripped their clothes off and also thrashed infants. They began alleging that people were being converted here. The police came here and seized the vehicles the attackers came in. They desecrated the Bible and some of the pictures that were hung on the wall," Chhattisgarh Christian Forum President Arun Pannalal said.

He asserted that it was a matter of shame for the government that minorities were being constantly attacked.

"This is the fourth attack on churchgoers in Chhattisgarh in the past five weeks. We are trying to get a First Information Report filed," Pannalal said.

16:26

JUST IN: Judicial panel report on Muzaffarnagar riots tabled in UP assembly; blames intelligence failure for conflagration.

16:07 Jaitley attacks Rahul for sympathising with those who want to "break India"

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today launched a stinging attack on Rahul Gandhi for voicing "sympathies" for "those who raised slogans for breaking up India" and said it was the Congress vice president's "ideological hollowness" that he did something that likes of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi never did.

The senior BJP leader also termed JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar's speech, delivered following his release on bail, a "victory for us", saying he had gone to jail for raising anti-India slogans but came back to speak amid slogans of 'Jai Hind' and hoisting of the tricolour.

Karti is being targeted only because he is my son, says former Union Minister P Chidambaram. The statement made by the former minister come in wake of his son's alleged real estate investments across the world.

In recent days, Karti has come under the scanner following reports that he had made investments in real estate assets and other businesses in many countries, including England, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, British Virgin Island, France, USA, Switzerland, Greece and Spain,

Noted writer and activist Taslima Nasreen on Sunday lambasted those who announced bounty on JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar's head over his slogans on JNU campus.

Taslima, who is quite active on Twitter and followed by many for her criticism of bigotry, wrote in disgust, "I thought only Muslims can be fatwabaz, but some Hindus want to be insane. Issued fatwas. Put 11 lakh on Kanhaiya's head, 5 lakh on his tongue."

Further denouncing the idea of violence, she said, First you fall in love with your religion. Then you give up your sanity and rationality. Then you set price on your critics' heads. Then you start beheading...

Only the rich and the famous are talking of intolerance, there is no debate on the issue, actor Anupam Kher claimed. "This is a no debate. The rich and the famous are talking of intolerance. If you ask a man on the street, they won't talk about intolerance. All they want is food two times a day. Those with a champagne in a glass are only talking about it. Are you living in India or America," Kher said.

He said the "biggest" form of intolerance in the country was during the Emergency when all those people who spoke against the government were jailed. Mocking Rahul Gandhi, he said, "Congress is the most tolerant in India because they are tolerating a person whom they want to project as a prime minister of this country".

In a case of honour killing, a 30-year-old woman was burnt alive in public by her brother and other relatives in Rajasthan's Dungarpur district when she came to meet her family for the first time since her marriage with a man of another caste eight years ago, police said.

Rama Kunwar, who eloped with Prakash Sevak eight years ago, was set ablaze on Friday in Pachlasa village by her brother and cousins who did not approve of the alliance, they said.

Police said the couple was living somewhere else and had come to their village for the first time after marriage to meet parents and in-laws. "They beat her, dragged her out of the house to the road and burnt her alive when the woman's husband was not present," they said, adding that the last rites were also conducted the same night.

Police said they have arrested seven persons, including brother Laxman Singh, while efforts are on to apprehend other accused.

After a strong opposition from Himanchal chief minister Virbhadra Singh over conducting the high-profile clash of the ICC World T20 between India and Pakistan at Dharamsala, AAP party also joined the chorus on Saturday to oppose the BCCI's move.

The match between the arch-rivals, which is scheduled to take place on March 19, is possibly the biggest clash of the coveted tournament. But the dark clouds of uncertainty are still continue to overshadow over the match.

13:47 Dear farmers: Achhe din are coming

Farmers may rejoice. The government has finally acknowledged that farmers are part of India, that the farm sector faces acute distress, and that farmers need a helping hand. That is something which many commentators -- especially Mr Ashok Gulati -- have been saying for many months.

Read more HERE

After Uttar Pradesh, Congress leaders will brainstorm over their game plan for the Punjab polls in the presence of political strategist Prashant Kishor at a meeting called on March 12 by party vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Congress has been out of power in Punajb for the past decade and, party sources said, Rahul Gandhi wanted the "bad patch" to end.

Gandhi has convened the meeting to facilitate a thread barediscussion with Punjab leaders to devise a winning strategy after two successive losses, with the last one then blamed by the AICC on the "overconfidence" of the state leadership.

Congress sources said AICC has brought in Kishor to "help and assist" the Uttar Pradesh and Punjab units to craft the party's strategy for the crucial polls next year.

Amid ongoing fiasco over the anti-national sloganeering at Jawaharlal Nehru University in the National Capital and JNU students' leader Kanhaiya Kumar 's outburst against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, a teenage girl Jhanvi Behal from Ludhiana has challenged the 29-year-old.

In an open challenge, the 15-year-old challenged Kanhaiya Kumar to meet her 'wherever and whenever' for the debate.

"I am ready for an open debate wherever and whenever he (Kanhaiya) wants. It is very easy to criticise someone while sitting at home. Kanhaiya should concentrate on working like PM Modi," said Jhanvi.

"Whatever Kanhaiya ji said against PM Modi is completely wrong and unacceptable. It would have been better if he had spoken against those anti-nationals who raised slogans rather than PM Modi," added Jhanvi.

13:00 Social media dos and don'ts for ITBP troops

In order to avoid the risk of data "spill" and cyber threats, border guarding force ITBP has issued a set of social media usage directives to its personnel asking them to refrain from making comments on political issues and sending a "like" to obscene and hateful material on the internet.

"Official photographs and documents should not be uploaded on social media websites, wikis and forums like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ among others. Personnel should also refrain from making comments on political related matters/issues," the latest instructions state.

The troops have also been asked to keep away from commenting on controversial and distasteful content. "Personnel should not blog, comment, tweet, or issue snapshots and endorse any negative or unwanted events or like or share on social media websites, including content that exploits minors, (is) obscene or hateful material," it said.

Lok Sabha MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has stirred a controversy, asking Dalits and people from the backward community to pick up arms for fighting atrocities and shoot the corrupt officials.

Yadav brazenly stated that he would reward those who beat the corrupt officials to death in public. "If the government is not taking action against bureaucrats and ministers who are looting the poor then the Dalits should shoot the politicians responsible for deaths like that of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. The Dalits should fight against all those who are responsible for Vemula's death," Yadav said.

"Those who bring the tapes of corrupt officials would be rewarded Rs 25,000 and those who beat them to death in public would be awarded Rs 10 lakh from my side," he added.

Arjuna award winning boxer Manoj Kumar weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar. In a scathing post on Facebook, the Arjuna Award winner slammed Kanhaiya and also criticized the recent events at JNU where anti-India slogans were raised.

The boxer stated that he was skeptical at first about commenting on this issue but could not hold himself back in the end. His post talks about how the country's traitors are being called 'heros'.

The father of a Kargil war martyr decorated with the country's highest military award has opposed Indo-Pak cricket matches anywhere in India as long the hostile neighbour continues its proxy war.

The comments GL Batra, father of slain Indian Army captain Vikram Batra, came in the backdrop of a controversy surrounding the March 19 tie between the two rivals during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament. The match will be held in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

"It is my personal opinion that matches with Pakistan shouldn't take place anywhere in India. They are waging a proxy war in Kashmir. Recently, the Pathankot attack took place. We shouldn't be so humble. But is it humbleness or weakness?" Batra said.

Captain Vikram Batra was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his gallantry during the 1999 Kargil war.

Ten terrorists are suspected to have entered Gujarat and are planning to carry out a "big strike", the Intelligence Bureau has reportedly warned the state police.

Security has been intensified across Gujarat following the warning. Combing operations have begun and a team of the National Security Guard or NSG commandos has arrived in Ahmedabad as part of the contingency plan.

Although the alert has not been specific, agencies believed that infiltration is an attempt to create disturbance on or around Shivratri which falls on Monday.

Times of India reports: Union minister Smriti Irani reportedly received minor injuries on Saturday after her car met with an accident on the Yamua Expressway.

Irani, along with other senior leaders of the BJP, was returning to Delhi from a meeting of the party's youth wing in Vrindavan.

According to reports, Irani injured her knee in the accident in which many cars crashed into each other.

According to preliminary information, the collision took place when a motorcyclist, Ramesh Kumar, hit a Honda City car. Irani's escort vehicle was just behind the Honda City.

Kumar, said to be a resident of Kalindi Vihar in Agra, died in the accident.

The controversy over an event at JNU commemorating Afzal Guru's hanging during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised was a "constructed conspiracy" of the state to defame the university, faculty member and noted economist Jayati Ghosh has said.

"It was a constructed conspiracy to defame the university and it was planned at a higher level. Among those present at the event, three masked men who raised those 'anti-national' slogans were apparently from IB. This is what we suspect," she said while addressing the students during a lecture on "anti-national policies of NDA" on Saturday.

The lecture was part of the "nationalism teaching" series which are being conducted at JNU's which is caught in a row over the February 9 event. The classes are being held at the varsity's administration block which has been venue of the protest ever since students union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in a sedition case over the event.

"This is what we suspect. We are more important than we think... we are really a target. This is why we have to defend ourselves," Ghosh said, adding the government is specifically targeting universities because it is afraid of students who can think and analyse.

"A university produces citizens who are aware and analyse and most of all who can think. All of you here think and that is why they want to finish you... finish us," she said.

Times of India reports: Teri executive vice chairman RK Pachauri, accused of sexually harassing a former woman colleague, had written six poems aiming to express his "feelings", praising the beauty of the victim who he called "cold" for lack of her response.

According to informed sources, Delhi Police in its chargesheet has said that Pachauri had remained "engaged in sexually-laden conversations" with the victim citing various telephone calls, e-mails, and WhatsApp messages exchanged between the two. This happened despite several messages by the victim that she could not reciprocate his feeling.

On March 1, the chargesheet was filed before a magistrate in Saket court who has posted the matter for April 23 for consideration.

In the chargesheet, it was mentioned that Pachauri had written six poems where he attributed the victim as a "classical Indian beauty".

Read more HERE

The issue of non-payment of salary to staff of now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines came back to haunt its chairman Vijay Mallya again with the employees, in an open letter, accusing him of damaging the image of the country, particularly the aviation industry.

The letter, which comes days after the beleaguered industrialist said that the "only regret" he has was that the carrier is not flying when the oil price has dipped so low, also accused him of having "blood-stained" hands.

The wife of a former Kingfisher airlines employee in Delhi had allegedly committed suicide, apparently depressed over financial stress due to non-payment of salary to her husband.

"We have been under continuous pain and agony due to your apathy towards us. However, it was particularly aggravated by your recent callous 'NO REGRET' remark about KFA. For us, KFA still exists as we are still on the payrolls although without pay as we never received any communication from you, after you promised revival, about the shutdown of the company and our fate," the employees said in the letter.

"As you don't have regrets, it's also important to highlight how much damage you have caused to the image of our country, particularly aviation industry. Because of you, upcoming airlines are finding it difficult to get aircraft on lease from leasing companies," it said.

"Mr Mallya you have blood on your hands. We have so much to tell you but you won't have patience and time to listen to all that. Please do have regret and don't set precedents dangerous to our country and aspiring entrepreneurs," the agitated employees said in the letter.

00:21 Top headlines at this hour:

Army commander warns of terror strike during Shivratri

Delhi court discharges Lashkar bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda

Irani asks: Is he a youth leader? He is close to 50 years!

Rs 11 lakh bounty on Kanhaiya; cops yet to make arrests, fingers point to ABVP

PCB stops women's team from travelling to India for WT20

Row over image of Taskin carrying Dhoni's severed head

How can Rohith be inspiring? He held meet for Memon: V K Singh

Read Saturday's commentary HERE

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